Billboard 1981: The Rankdown (Winner Revealed)

[tallen2001]

Oh I also forgot about Alabama’s Feel So Right will probably be in the bottom five.

[Juanca]

I think there will be some degree of country and AC purge early on, with Alabama, Kenny Rogers, Ronnie Milsap, Barry Manilow and Neil Diamond in bottom 5. Although Beach Boys may also be tanked

In the top 5 I see Kim Carnes, Blondie, ABBA, Queen and Devo

And I think that John Lennon will have the most top 40s

[singingrulebritannia]

One of the Ronnie Milsap songs I'd be OK with leaving early...but the other one was very nice and top 50 would be my preferred landing spot for it. And "The Tide Is High" as a winner? That would be spectacularly underwhelming, so I hope not.

If Steve Winwood can somehow reach the top 5 with "Higher Love", I don't see why he can't put up a fight for a top 10 slot with the far stronger WYSAC. Thinking "Twilight"'s performance in my recent rankdown bodes well for ELO here, too. Both the Alan Parsons songs aren't quite Eye In The Sky in stature, but they're great in their own way, so I'll be looking for their performances to reflect this.

As I implied up-thread, one of my wishes is for the medleys to fizzle out pronto like the jokes they are. I also have 3 duets in my bottom 11, a single artist comprising my bottom 2, and a couple lame covers side-by-side in my bottom 16. And an artist I've featured in a personal rankdown is in my bottom 10; shocking maybe, but trust me, they deserved it with this abomination of a song.

[mamooshka]

How did those medleys peak so high in the weekly charts, let alone make the YE Top 100?

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[Red]

Feb 26, 2019 15:06:40 GMT -5 Juanca said:

In the top 5 I see Kim Carnes, Blondie, ABBA, Queen and Devo

Given Devo's past performances in rankdowns, I am not optimistic about its chances.

(I hope I'm wrong, though.)

[Juanca]

Feb 26, 2019 16:46:27 GMT -5 mamooshka said:

How did those medleys peak so high in the weekly charts, let alone make the YE Top 100?

View Attachment

Don’t mess with Stars on 45, though!!!!
Lol
I enjoyed that song quite a bit.
The Beach Boys one on the other hand is

[campbellssoup]

What songs do you expect to see in the top 5?
Another One Bites the Dust, one of the John Lennon songs, one of the Blondie songs, Hit Me with Your Best Shot, Don't Stand So Close to Me

What songs do you expect to see in the bottom 5?
Feels So Right, one of the medleys (if not both), Lady, one of the Air Supply songs, and maybe I Made It through the Rain?

Which artist/group will have the most Top 40 entries?
John Lennon

[mamooshka]

Feb 26, 2019 18:06:28 GMT -5 Juanca said:

Feb 26, 2019 16:46:27 GMT -5 mamooshka said:

How did those medleys peak so high in the weekly charts, let alone make the YE Top 100?

Don’t mess with Stars on 45, though!!!!
Lol
I enjoyed that song quite a bit.
The Beach Boys one on the other hand is

Several of these tracks are bottom-10 worthy, so ... it truly all boils down to personal preference. 

But I'm at a loss for words as to who thought it would be a good idea to have session singers cover songs (that were barely a decade old) and then segue them to a disco beat?

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[Unhinged]

Welcome to the Billboard 1981 Rankdown reveal!

Note: P-P-P-P-Perfect Rankings will be bolded...

Let's get to it...

#100

I Don't Need You

Kenny Rogers

Total Points: 313

Billboard Hot 100: 3⁽²⁾

Billboard Top 100 of 1981: 44

From: Share Your Love

Lead single from the album Share Your Love, "I Don't Need You" was released in June of 1981, reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week ending August 15, 1981. It was produced by Lionel Richie, as was the entire album.

singingrulebritannia - 83
God - 95
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 92
Sambalada - 57
Doc Indie Party Rock - 82
gonecountry - 91
mamooshka - 90
rowellfarm490 - 93
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 91
Mirago - 95
rgreen0625 - 80
Az Paynter - 80
newpower - 79
campbellssoup - 96
craziaskowboi - 79
tallen2001 - 87
Cody Wants Out... - 79
Red - 81
tim - 87
Juanca - 98
Unhinged  - 93

Observing

Mic Technique

peacebone

[Az Paynter]

Wow, no perfect rankings?

[singingrulebritannia]

Holy moly. No rankings in the top half, 1 ranking not in the bottom 30 and only 5 more outside the bottom 20. An absolutely pitiful showing...and I can't say the song deserved any better.

[Unhinged]

#99

What Are We Doin' In Love

Dottie West

Total Points: 375

Billboard Hot 100: 14

Billboard Top 100 of 1981: 55

From: Wild West

"What Are We Doin' In Love" was released in March of 1981 as the second single from the album Wild West and features uncredited vocals from Kenny Rogers.  It peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of June 27^th.

singingrulebritannia - 92
God - 70
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 98
Sambalada - 65
Doc Indie Party Rock - 90
gonecountry - 89
mamooshka - 95
rowellfarm490 - 100
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 62
Mirago - 94
rgreen0625 - 89
Az Paynter - 73
newpower - 93
campbellssoup - 79
craziaskowboi - 90
tallen2001 - 92
Cody Wants Out... - 42
Red - 87
tim - 68
Juanca - 86
Unhinged - 92

Observing

Mic Technique
peacebone

[Unhinged]

#98

Feels So Right

Alabama

Total Points: 402

Billboard Hot 100: 20

Billboard Top 100 of 1981: 77

From: Feels So Right

This multi-week Hot Country Singles No. 1 hit was released as the 2^nd single from the album of the same name, reaching a peak of No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early September of 1981.

I score the first perfect rank of the day, yay me!

singingrulebritannia - 75
God - 77
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 87
Sambalada - 86
Doc Indie Party Rock - 94
gonecountry - 95
mamooshka - 83
rowellfarm490 - 96
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 72
Mirago - 93
rgreen0625 - 94
Az Paynter - 95
newpower - 85
campbellssoup - 97
craziaskowboi - 70
tallen2001 - 93
Cody Wants Out... - 21
Red - 91
tim - 18
Juanca - 99
Unhinged - 98

Observing

Mic Technique

peacebone

[Az Paynter]

First p-p-p-p goes to the host. #RIGGED :sip2: :kii:

[tallen2001]

Two Kenny Rogers songs out first. Can’t say I’m surprised by any of these reveals so far though.

[Unhinged]

#97

Hello Again

Neil Diamond

Total Points: 439

Billboard Hot 100: 6

Billboard Top 100 of 1981: 70

From: The Jazz Singer Soundtrack

"Hello Again" was released as the 3^rd single from the soundtrack album to the film The Jazz Singer (which starred Diamond, Laurence Olivier and Lucie Arnaz). It peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becomes the first of Neil's 3 entries to leave the rankdown.

Handing out 3 perfect ranks with this leaving the rankdown...

singingrulebritannia - 97
God - 96
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 54
Sambalada - 97
Doc Indie Party Rock - 98
gonecountry - 72
mamooshka - 80
rowellfarm490 - 90
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 74
Mirago - 96
rgreen0625 - 96
Az Paynter - 38
newpower - 67
campbellssoup - 82
craziaskowboi - 86
tallen2001 - 96
Cody Wants Out... - 46
Red - 97
tim - 39
Juanca - 90
Unhinged  - 91

Observing

Mic Technique
peacebone

[Az Paynter]

Welp looks like I overranked this lol.

[Unhinged]

#96

It's Now Or Never

John Schneider

Total Points: 477

Billboard Hot 100: 14

Billboard Top 100 of 1981: 82

From: Now Or Never

This Elvis Presley cover was released in May of 1981 as the debut single from actor-singer John Schneider. It peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 4 on Hot Country Singles.

This one seemed like ya'll either kind of liked it or just straight up hated it...

singingrulebritannia - 50
God - 51
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 78
Sambalada - 44
Doc Indie Party Rock - 62
gonecountry - 90
mamooshka - 92
rowellfarm490 - 92
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 46
Mirago - 100
rgreen0625 - 100
Az Paynter - 82
newpower - 100
campbellssoup - 68
craziaskowboi - 83
tallen2001 - 51
Cody Wants Out... - 88
Red - 94
tim - 99
Juanca - 92
Unhinged - 82

Observing

Mic Technique
peacebone

[tallen2001]

This song was really decisive.

[Unhinged]

#95

Together

Tierra

Total Points: 494

Billboard Hot 100: 18

Billboard Top 100 of 1981: 53

From: City Nights

This remake of The Intruders' 1967 hit was released in November of 1980, reaching its peak of No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week ending February 21, 1981. Written by Gamble & Huff, it was the groups biggest hit in the US.

A few of you danced around a perfect rank for this song...

singingrulebritannia - 68
God - 68
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 97
Sambalada - 80
Doc Indie Party Rock - 57
gonecountry - 75
mamooshka - 77
rowellfarm490 - 98
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 70
Mirago - 78
rgreen0625 - 88
Az Paynter - 29
newpower - 82
campbellssoup - 89
craziaskowboi - 94
tallen2001  - 49
Cody Wants Out... - 80
Red - 74
tim - 94
Juanca - 96
Unhinged - 84

Observing

Mic Technique
peacebone

[tim]

This was an unnecessary remake and as someone who enjoy’s Elvis’ music it was hard not to compare them when listening to it.

[Unhinged]

#94

What Kind Of Fool

Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb

Total Points: 497

Billboard Hot 100: 10

Billboard Top 100 of 1981: 85

From: Guilty

Released in January of 1981, "What Kind Of Fool" was the 3^rd consecutive Top 10 hit for Streisand from her album Guilty. It peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week ending March 10, 1981 where it remained for 3 weeks.

tallen2001 scores a perfect rank with this leaving...

singingrulebritannia - 95
God - 99
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 96
Sambalada - 32
Doc Indie Party Rock - 96
gonecountry - 71
mamooshka - 96
rowellfarm490 - 83
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 44
Mirago - 92
rgreen0625 - 56
Az Paynter - 46
newpower - 58
campbellssoup - 77
craziaskowboi - 91
tallen2001 - 94
Cody Wants Out... - 95
Red  - 95
tim - 78
Juanca - 41
Unhinged - 89

Observing

Mic Technique
peacebone

[Unhinged]

#93

Every Woman In The World

Air Supply

Total Points: 497

Billboard Hot 100: 5

Billboard Top 100 of 1981: 27

From: Lost In Love

Peaking at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 the last week of January 1981, "Every Woman In The World" was the 3^rd and final single from the album Lost In Love.  

singingrulebritannia - 100
God - 43
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 84
Sambalada - 61
Doc Indie Party Rock - 53
gonecountry - 99
mamooshka - 63
rowellfarm490 - 97
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 49
Mirago - 79
rgreen0625 - 97
Az Paynter - 68
newpower - 84
campbellssoup - 66
craziaskowboi - 97
tallen2001 - 90
Cody Wants Out... - 59
Red - 100
tim - 66
Juanca - 70
Unhinged - 99

Observing

Mic Technique
peacebone

[newpower]

Barbra Streisand & Barry Gibb didn't deserve that low rank.

[Az Paynter]

After Air Supply's previous performance in 1980 I guess I'm not surprised. Barbra/Barry DID deserve better though, and I hope that isn't foreshadowing of what's going to happen to 'Woman In Love'.

[Unhinged]

#92

The Beach Boys Medley

The Beach Boys

Total Points: 546

Billboard Hot 100: 12

Billboard Top 100 of 1981: 93

From: Sunshine Dream

Capitalizing on the medley craze begun by the Stars on 45, "The Beach Boys Medley" was released in July of 1981, peaking at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week ending October 3, 1981.  It features the songs: "Good Vibrations," "Help Me, Rhonda," "I Get Around," "Shut Down," "Surfin' Safari," "Barbara Ann," "Surfin' U.S.A." and "Fun, Fun, Fun."

singingrulebritannia  - 98
God - 33
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 91
Sambalada - 93
Doc Indie Party Rock - 59
gonecountry - 65
mamooshka - 88
rowellfarm490 - 88
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 30
Mirago - 84
rgreen0625 - 45
Az Paynter - 99
newpower - 71
campbellssoup - 99
craziaskowboi - 38
tallen2001 - 82
Cody Wants Out... - 34
Red - 92
tim - 100
Juanca - 100
Unhinged - 90

Observing

Mic Technique
peacebone

[Az Paynter]

I was actually expecting this to be a contender for last place.

[tim]

Glad this is out now...not that I dislike The Beach Boys but this medley was such a waste.

[Unhinged]

#91

Elvira

The Oak Ridge Boys

Total Points: 551

Billboard Hot 100: 5

Billboard Top 100 of 1981: 31

From: Fancy Free

Certified platinum (for sales of 2 million units by the Recording Industry Association of America), "Elvira" was released in March of 1981. It peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week ending July 25, 1981 (the week I was born!).

The title of the song was inspired not by the name of a woman, but by the name of a street in East Nashville, Tennessee.

Ending the reveal today with a perfect rank, congrats rowellfarm490...

Revealing 90-81 tomorrow.

singingrulebritannia - 78
God - 94
Butterflies & Hurricanes - 100
Sambalada - 73
Doc Indie Party Rock - 97
gonecountry - 74
mamooshka - 100
rowellfarm490 - 91
🇯🇲 dollybaby 🇯🇲 - 100
Mirago - 67
rgreen0625 - 99
Az Paynter - 85
newpower - 80
campbellssoup - 45
craziaskowboi - 57
tallen2001 - 39
Cody Wants Out... - 27
Red - 62
tim - 26
Juanca - 79
Unhinged - 97

Observing

Mic Technique
peacebone

[tim]

I expected to see “Elvira” out in the bottom 10 so not surprised...it’s still one of those songs that I enjoy occasionaly though.